EP claim season’s first win against reigning champions Eagles

Having thrown away their run chase at Wisborough Green the previous weekend, EP made no mistake this week after putting in Eagles, and then knocking off their 195 all out.

EP captain Richard Laker praised his side’s bowling display, before scores of 43 from Chris Williams, 60 from Tim Miles and 43 from Gary Weedon saw them home with four balls to spare.

Laker said: “The win has certainly made the disappointing result from the week before more bearable.

“The 30 points added to the bonus points picked up in the first two games sits us nicely in the top half of the table, which is a reasonable start to the season.”

Wickets for Dan Williams and Mark Coskin and a Laker run out saw Eagles opening three batsmen gone for just 18 between them.

They then offered some resistance with the bat as Waqas Hafiz hit 30 and Falah Udin 21.

Others made starts but failed to push on. Atif Khan’s 36 being the top score, while Imran Khan added a late 19 to lead them to their total of 195.

Coskin finished with 3-57 and Laker grabbed 3-56.

Laker added: “With two key players unavailable for the game, having won the toss I thought it would be best to try and chase a total, despite having made a mess of it the week before.

“Colin Smith kept up the pressure on Eagles during the middle overs. Myself and Mark Coskin bowled well and eventually bowled them out on the final ball of their allotted overs for 195, which was a fantastic effort from the whole team.”

With opener Josh Carter being bowled early for just three runs, Williams set the tone of EP’s innings with an excellent 42, and despite having to retire hurt for a half-hour period, Miles produced an excellent knock and shared a partnership of 88 with Weedon to set up the win.

Colin Smith hit just three, while Tom Reeves added 11, so it was up to Dan Sunderland to come in and support Dan Williams, whose 18 not out included the winning runs to secure 30 points, which moves them up to fourth in the table.